Library and museum support for the Ainu People of Japan
Two Japanese professionals on the role that libraries and museums in Japan can play in promoting the knowledge and cultures of the Ainu People.
Care calls, PPE production and more: How Ontario public libraries have responded to COVID-19
To learn more about how public libraries were responding and adapting to physical buildings closures, OLA issued a survey in March 2020. Here are the summarized results of this survey.
Collecting and using data productively in a time of COVID-19
Data may not be coming up in library-related conversations very often at present, but perhaps it should because good data collection and use will help us by improve and showcase our services.
Drew Hayden Taylor: A contemporary storyteller
Ojibway playwright Drew Hayden Taylor visited Thunder Bay last March. In her last podcast of this series for Open Shelf, contributor Sam Bird took the chance to sit down with this celebrated Indigenous storyteller.
“Can I take your order?”: Curbside library services in the age of COVID-19
Six months ago, drive-thru library circulation was a laughable idea. But now academic library services have been flipped on their heads and curbside pickup is very popular.
Theory in practice III: Moving from systemic racism to anti-racism in Ontario public libraries
In this final installment of her series on anti-racism, Amber Matthews argues that library staff must recognize libraries as racialized spaces in order to construct equitable social structures.
Knowing ourselves: How the Encyclopedia of Canada’s Peoples can help us learn who we are
Online reference materials have huge value for teaching and learning, For librarians grappling to give access to comprehensive online resources the Encyclopedia of Canada’s Peoples is a "tertiary source" worth considering.
New North Branch public library reflects a unique public partnership in Sault St. Marie
Schools and public libraries have long been important centres of activity in Ontario communities. The new North Branch of the Sault St. Marie Public Library is a case in point.
Put your oxygen mask on first: 13 strategies to support your teams and yourself
Branch managers can feel pulled in all directions, have a need to work at all hours, and yet seem removed from their staff. How can they support staff when not physically working side-by-side and when they have the need to "put their own masks on first?"
Taking responsibility: Why state imposed governance for Indigenous Peoples?
This two-part article unpacks the supposed abrogation of responsibility of the federal government to Indigenous communities. In this first installment, we dive into the question of governance and the tensions between the Indian Act and rights created under both the Constitution of Canada and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Six “big” K-12 library questions in a pandemic world
Recently, members of the Ontario School Library Association (OSLA) council had "big questions" when they chatted online about the pandemic and its impact on K-12 school library learning commons.
Phone-a-friend: SOLS helps libraries (pandemic or not)
Remember the TV game show, Cash Cab? Contestants could try to answer questions on their own, but if they got stuck, they could phone a friend. The Southern Ontario Library Service (SOLS) is like that friend who you can call or turn to for an answer.
Theory in practice II: Moving from systemic racism to anti-racism in Ontario public libraries
There is a strong need to explicitly acknowledge deeply embedded racist thinking in order to move towards systemic change in public libraries.